Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By JohnAlbee

560 A Soldier’s Grave

BREAK not his sweet repose—

Thou whom chance brings to this sequestered ground,

The sacred yard his ashes close,

But go thy way in silence; here no sound

Is ever heard but from the murmuring pines,

Answering the sea’s near murmur;

Nor ever here comes rumor

Of anxious world or war’s foregathering signs.

The bleaching flag, the faded wreath,

Mark the dead soldier’s dust beneath,

And show the death he chose;

Forgotten save by her who weeps alone,

And wrote his fameless name on this low stone:

Break not his sweet repose.